What if there was a free tool that allowed access instantly to a wide audience? This tool could provide important announcements, standard reports, updates, accolades and whatever else customers needed to know, and could do so without costing a dime.
Such a tool actually exists, and water and wastewater systems, regulators and nonprofit agencies are already using it, despite its stigma as a “youth only” thing.
It’s social networking, using sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Social networking sites do more than allow friends to chat amongst themselves. They also provide a free method to put the word out to a narrow or broad audience and disseminate information quickly. As a result, businesses, nonprofits, industries and even water and wastewater systems are taking to sites like Facebook and Twitter to connect with their customers and constituents.
In this edition of eBulletin, we’ll give you a brief overview of the top two social networking sites and what some water- and wastewater-related companies are doing there. We’ll also provide suggestions on how your system can use free Internet sites to reach customers better and faster.
Putting it to use
Social networking is often portrayed as a “youth” thing, but the truth is, a wide variety of people – business, celebrities, nonprofits, government offices and affiliates of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership – are using social networks to reach out to others. Even water and wastewater systems, both large and small, are taking advantage of social networking’s ability to spread the word.
John Holland, superintendent for Water and Wastewater in Clare, Michigan, started a Facebook page for the systems last year. So far, he’s mainly just been testing the social networking waters by putting out various bits of information and not really advertising that the page exists. But an expansion project is about to change that.
“We’re getting ready to start a big project in three or four months, and we’ll advertise [the page] then by putting it out on our [city] TV channel and through other methods,” he said. “We’ll be updating the page as the project goes, so it will be a great way for our customers to see how their money is being spent.”
So what prompted the superintendent of a town of 3,120 to put his water and wastewater system on Facebook in the first place?
Holland said he was introduced to Facebook through his work with the United Methodist Youth Conference. He used Facebook to try to keep in touch with the youth throughout the state of Michigan involved in the conference, and he began to think that it could benefit his city as well.
“I thought, hey, this might be a good PR tool for my water and wastewater plant and for the city of Clare,” Holland said.
So Holland created the page about a year ago. Since then, he’s added information on the system’s personnel and a recent project to clean and repaint the city’s water tower. One of the latest updates announced a recent award for the water system.
Holland said he had plans for other announcements as well.
“If we ever have to do a boil order – Heaven forbid we should have to – I’ll post it on the Facebook site as another way to get it out to everyone,” he said. Holland said he plans to use Facebook as an education tool, and has already added information on wellhead protection and cross connections to the Discussion part of the page.
Holland said the Clare city treasurer is looking at creating a Facebook page for the city itself after he researched several social networking sites and decided Facebook was the best for their needs.
For Holland and Clare’s water and wastewater systems, Facebook provides another method to disseminate information to customers. In this case, not only can customers find out about current projects or problems, but they also can hear the good news of rewards and accolades. It also gives them a way to get to know their water and wastewater system workers a little better. Holland also sees it as a way to educate his customers, and even those outside the area, on various topics like why it’s important to protect wellheads and watersheds and why bottled water isn’t as good as people think.
In this case, social networking is allowing a small town’s water system to spread the word in a broad sweep, using a method that’s popular and free.
Additional Resources
City of Clare Water and Wastewater Treatment
http://www.facebook.com/pages/City-of-Clare-Water-and-Wastewater-Treatment/164133589684 [1]
Agencies on board
Social networking isn’t just a tool for water and wastewater systems to give out information. It’s also a tool for them to receive it.
Several water-related entities, from nonprofit programs to periodicals to the EPA itself, are using sites like Facebook and Twitter to pass on information.
Employees of the Midwest Assistance Program (MAP), an affiliate of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), recently created their own Facebook page. They did it to spread the word about MAP’s work with small and rural water and wastewater systems, said Program Assistant Ann Hamilton. “We decided to create the Facebook [page] to get MAP’s name and mission out there,” Ann said recently. “With over 500 million users, you can’t go wrong!”
Ann said Facebook provided a way for communities to keep in touch with MAP and its technical assistance providers. It also provided more information for those communities interested in MAP’s services.
“I want them to ask questions, be informed and check out our free trainings I post as events,” she said.
Ann said they have had some response, even though they hadn’t formally announced the page yet. That announcement is planned in the next issue of their magazine, The Source.
The EPA has several sites on both Facebook and Twitter. Its Twitter sites provide news, updates and links for the agency, its WaterSense program, its Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, its research arm and even each EPA Region, so you can “Follow” whichever feed best suits your needs. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson even has her own feed. You can find specific pages by using the search bar at the top of the screen.
The EPA uses its Facebook pages for similar information distribution, often peppered with photos and its own videos. The Facebook page allows users to interact with EPA officials and with each other through comments left on each post. If necessary, posts can be removed if rules set by the EPA are not followed.
These are just a few examples of the resources for water and wastewater systems available on social networking sites. Many more exist, and they usually can be found either my searching on the social network sites themselves or by doing a broader Internet search through pages like Google.
One thing to watch, if you visit the web site of these agencies, often they will mention that they have a Facebook or Twitter page and will post the link on their web site, which makes it easier to find their social networking pages.
Additional Resources
Midwest Assistance Program (MAP) Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/mapinc.org [2]
EPA Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/EPA [3]
EPA Water Is Worth It! Page
http://www.facebook.com/EPAWaterIsWorthIt [4]
EPA Twitter page
http://twitter.com/#!/EPAgov [5]
Social Networking 101
So how exactly does all this social networking work? It’s a bit hard to describe, but we’ll give you the basics, as well as links to some great online tutorials.
While there are several social networking sites available, we’re going to concentrate on the two heavy hitters, Facebook and Twitter.
It’s free and fairly simple to get onto Facebook or Twitter. You don’t even have to have a web site. Basically, if you have an e-mail address, you can have a Facebook or Twitter page.
Of the two, Twitter is one of the more basic systems. Essentially, you type a message of 140 characters or less, and that message is posted. Those that “follow” you, i.e. subscribe to your updates, will be able to see the messages on their personal pages, called “timelines” or “feeds.” It’s like posting messages to a bulletin board for a specific group of people, and each person gets their own bulletin board. You can see a sample of a Twitter page in the included photo.
The good thing about this is those messages can be posted at any time and can include links to web sites, photos or whatever else you need to add for your customers. For example, if you need to explain that new federal regulations will take effect in a month, you can post a link to the EPA’s web site explaining those regulations. If you announce you’re painting the town’s water tower, you can post a picture of the project’s progress.
The updates are called “tweets.” Twitter is fast and fairly simple, but it a bit more limited than sites like Facebook.
Facebook falls on the same general lines in that you update people subscribed to your feed, listed as either your “friends” or as those who have “liked” your page. They do this by sending a friend’s request, which allows you to decide if they have access to your information (usually reserved for individuals), or by hitting a “like” button on a page (usually set up for businesses or nonprofits). This gives people access to the information on the page. An example of a Page is available on the right.
The information is distributed much like on Twitter, but instead of “tweets” they’re called “status updates.” Instead of 140 characters, Facebook’s updates can be up to 420 characters long. Facebook also allows posting of links, photos, videos, notes and other media straight to the site, as opposed to Twitter which often uses third-party sites to post such material.
There are things to keep in mind with these pages, namely security. Twitter is a bit tighter initially than Facebook. But with Twitter, if you don’t wish to receive communications from someone, you can easily choose the option to “block” that person. This makes it easy to keep out the spammers. Simply click their name, then click the Menu icon that looks a little like a gear, then click “block [twittername1234]” and it will block that person.
Facebook’s security is a bit more complicated but also offers more options. For example, if you create a page for your business (called, ironically enough, a Page), you can set it up so anyone who “likes” your page can post there, or you can allow them to post only as a comment to your posts. You even can set it up so no one can post to your page. However, this prevents the type of interaction you probably want in setting up a Facebook page. If someone does get offensive or vulgar, you have the option of deleting their comments or removing their access to your page altogether.
Facebook and Twitter pages may not reach every customer, but they do offer a free, modern way to reach out to the public. It also provides a way to reach out to younger customers and potential customers, though these sites are used by people of all ages nowadays. The use of social networking certainly isn’t a requirement. It simply provides another option for information distribution, one that won’t cost anything.
While working with these sites sounds complicated, once you’re there you’ll probably find that it’s easier than it appears. Both sites talk you through registration and Page or personal site setup, and both offer Help menus and tips that are easy to follow. There are also several resources on the web that can help you, including a web site called Mahalo.com. Links for Facebook and Twitter tutorials are available below.
Additional Resources
Twitter
http://www.twitter.com [6]
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com [7]
Mahalo.com – Twitter tutorial
http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-use-twitter/ [8]
Mahalo.com – Facebook tutorial
http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-use-facebook/ [9]